The difference between Herringbone & Chevron Parquet Flooring?

One of the most commonly asked questions when it comes to Parquet Flooring, is about how to identify the difference between Chevron and Herringbone patterns.

The difference is all in the zigzag, where Chevron patterns have a continuous zigzag design where as the Herringbone pattern has a broken zigzag design.

Chevron

This is a zigzag pattern that comes to a sharp point; imagine the letter “V” on repeat. A chevron pattern may be worked into knitwear, printed on fabric, painted on surfaces, or for wood flooring designs.

For chevron floors, the wood pieces are cut at an angle and fitted together to form a true point, as seen here. This angle is what identifies chevron floors — herringbone floors, as you will see in a moment, are not cut at an angle.

Herringbone

The Herringbone pattern is often confused with chevron, but herringbone is created by placing rectangles in a staggered zigzag pattern, as shown below, it is commonly found in tilework and parquet floors.

For herringbone floors, the wood is not cut at an angle, but in rectangles that are laid in a broken zigzag pattern. If you look closely, you can see that the pieces of flooring here do not come to a sharp point, as in the chevron floor and seen previously.